Praying for a different kind of darkness

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flameAdvent Prayer by Lydia Wylie-Kellermann

Oh God,
This Advent we come to you
bent over with an ache in our soul,
with muscles that have held rage,
with eyes bloodshot from tears,
for there is a darkness this year
that is crawling with monsters.
The creatures of patriarchy, white supremacy,
and Christian hegemony
are emerging from their shadows.
Arrogantly crawling into our schools,
our churches and social media.
They are emerging as weaponized water
against water protectors
who are freezing to death.
They are emerging as walls and registries.
And it isn’t going away. Continue reading “Praying for a different kind of darkness” →

The Violence of White Silence: As Sick As Our Secrets

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Race, Uncategorized6 Comments

k-redBy Kim Redigan, high school teacher and activist, a reflection given at First Unitarian-Universalist Church, Detroit, Nov. 27, 2016

Twenty-eight years ago this very day, I made my way down a flight of church basement stairs – the longest walk I’ve ever taken – in order to save my life. Although I was confused and terrified, I knew that if I wanted to live I would have to embrace a new way of life that would require soul-shaking honesty, a focus on my own personal inventory and not the inventory of others, and a willingness to make real amends. In short, if I wanted to recover from the disease that had me in its grip, everything would have to change, beginning with my self-delusion and denial – a painful process that was devastating in its demands, but ultimately, liberating as I came to grips with a disease that left me soul sick and utterly out of touch with myself and others. Continue reading “The Violence of White Silence: As Sick As Our Secrets” →

Sermon 4th Sunday Advent: Joseph’s Yes

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological Animation, Uncategorized1 Comment

joseph.jpg Written and preached by Denise Griebler

Matthew 1:18-25
Isaiah 7:10-17

So Mary and Joseph are engaged.

To get to an engagement – there’s been, well, engagement. Mary and Joseph have been engaging with one another. They’ve been engaging each other’s families. There have been a long series of yeses.

But it’s not a straight line. It rarely is.

Matthew is so sparse in his description of events that it’s difficult for brain and heart not to search out Luke’s account and collapse the two. It’s not good exegetical form to do this. But I’m afraid my heart cannot resist the temptation. In the passage that comes just before this one we get a long list of fathers and sons (with a few interesting mothers thrown in the mix – Tamar the prostitute, Rahab the spy, Ruth the immigrant – outsiders, upstarts, all outrageous and unexpected) – and then at this long list of sons begat by fathers, comes the promise of a child, who will be God with us, God’s own and Mary’s. Continue reading “Sermon 4th Sunday Advent: Joseph’s Yes” →

#BUYNOTHINGXMAS

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Sabbath Economics, Subverting EmpireLeave a comment

nobuyFrom Adbusters:

This year, why not take a path less traveled?

Opt-out of the consumer fest that the holidays have become, the weeks of overconsumption that leave you feeling empty. Quit performing out of habit.

Think back to your fondest memories, those moments of real joy.

What might the holidays be like if you refused to hit the mall … let your friends know that you’re not accepting gifts (and not giving any either) … give back to people in real need … and if you do have to give a gift go indie or go rogue … make it yourself … inject some life back into that sedated and automatic sense of time.  Continue reading “#BUYNOTHINGXMAS” →

Recovering Our Advent Awe

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jonesAn Advent sermon from Rev. Timothy Jones of Community Baptist Church of New Haven, CT–a look back at last week’s Hebrew Bible text Malachi 3:16-18:

There’s no question that the secular imagination of the Christmas Holiday has an influence on how we imagine this Advent season. There are many aspects of what I’m going to call “the Holiday Season” that overlap with Advent, but in some very real ways, we need to distinguish between “the Holidays” and Advent. There is, in the Holiday sense, a Happiness, a kind of jolliness that is associated with the season that is different from the very real and situated joy that should come from Advent. And sometimes I’m worried that the Jolly sensibility of the Holiday season makes it difficult for us to receive all that God has for us in this season. Continue reading “Recovering Our Advent Awe” →

Lead us beside and into the still Darkness

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candleA Prayer for Advent. Written by Wesley Morris

Our God – who moves in heaven – and Earth
We praise and bless your holy name
Author of night and day

Lead us beside and into the still Darkness.
Into the womb of advent, the place of preparation.
When the world condemns our effort to reveal the true life,
draw us near – one to another.
Whisper to us in our communion –
reminders that you are here.

In this season, we seek the gentle care of your instruction
To find your simple peace.
You are our best guide in these times.
Teach us to hold our concerns
In community
With beloved speech and listening.
Our hearts, though tossed and turned, find refuge in your complete shadow.

Your word heals a multitude of harms.
Prepare our minds for what we do not know

Lead us beside and into the still Darkness

As you have taught,
Amen Continue reading “Lead us beside and into the still Darkness” →

Advent: The Wilderness in a Very Small Place

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Biography as Theology, Theological Animation, UncategorizedLeave a comment

seasonsExcerpt and reflection from Bill Wylie-Kellermann’s Seasons of Faith and Conscience: Explorations in Liturgical Direct Action

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way
of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be
made low; the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5)

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” (Matthew 11:2-6)

By tradition and history of the church, John the Baptist is associated with Advent. At the turn of the church year, the end and the beginning, he stands, one foot in each, to announce the coming of the Lord. John is the image of Advent par excellence: pre-eminent personage, spokesperson, figure, and voice. He is the very personification of the season, as seen in these two passages. Continue reading “Advent: The Wilderness in a Very Small Place” →

Candles on the Street

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sisters snow.jpgBy Lydia Wylie-Kellermann

Darkness started to fall as we foraged through the pile of snow clothes in the backseat of the car. My dad drove the same route we had done so many times as my mom helped us find the lost mitten or wool sock. We pulled in across the street and rolled out of the car barely visible inside the bundle of warmth. We crossed the street and stood as a heavy stream of cars exited the driveway beside us. My parents held signs and lit a single purple candle for it was the first Monday in Advent. Continue reading “Candles on the Street” →